Nina May (Quier) Barnes' Obituary
Barnes, Nina May (Quier)
August 9, 1928- August 8, 2024
Nina May Barnes made the world’s best fudge sheet cake. She made outstanding fried okra, steak fingers, and Moroccan stew, but her fudge sheet cake was truly the stuff of legends. She accomplished many other things, but the quality of her amazing sheet cake cannot be overstated.
Nina’s life began on the Sinclair oil field near Crescent, Oklahoma on August 9, 1928. She was the second of four children born to Roy and Addie Quier and grew up during the Great Depression, which led to a lifetime of saving and finding multiple uses for everyday objects. She could fix just about anything and cherished her independence. We actually had to take more than one chainsaw away from her at age 92 because she wanted to trim her own trees after an ice storm! She loved to garden.
While attending Garber High, Nina played basketball, was a cheerleader, sang in choir, and was a friend to all. Nina never met a stranger.
At the age of 18, she fell in love with the man who would stay with her for the rest of his life. Cornell Barnes walked into the cafe Nina worked at in Enid while she attended business college, and that’s all it took. They married on November 7, 1948, and remained married for 58 years, until Cornell’s death. A 76-year-old piece of their wedding cake survives Nina, wrapped in a napkin in her cedar chest.
They lived in Hobart and Midwest City, OK and San Diego, CA before making their home in Tulsa, OK. While they were engaged, they survived a horrific car crash, after which Nina was told she would never walk again, and never have children. Always strong-willed and not accepting of others’ limitations of her, Nina not only walked again one year later, but she had three children starting at age 36: Leslie, Bill and Becky.
Nina worked in bookkeeping for most of her early adult life. But once she had children, Nina threw herself into motherhood, serving at PTA President, scout/Camp Fire Girls leader, baseball and softball scorekeeper, cheerleading hauler, band mom, and eventually taking a job as a teacher’s aide for students with disabilities at Peary Elementary. She loved singing with the Sweet Adelines and in the church choir at Southern Hills UMC. She delighted in waking her children up at the crack of dawn by singing an old-time hymn in our faces. She was called by her children’s friends the “Ninja of all mothers.” She adopted that name with glee.
Due to Cornell’s employment at American Airlines, Nina traveled the world thriftily, kids in tow. She hosted foreign exchange students, and always insisted on the most authentic experiences when traveling. She made friends everywhere she visited. If her new friends were lucky, Mrs. Barnes would whip them up a fabulous sheet cake as well.
She recently told Becky her greatest accomplishment was “helping the children.” She was a passionate volunteer in Tulsa Public Schools. She prioritized education and worked hard to send all three of her children to university, a dream she had been denied. Nina had a soft spot for those in need or anyone who was just plain lonely. She volunteered for Meals on Wheels, Reading Partners, what is now called the ARC of Tulsa, and at church. She was a prolific storyteller and loved to write.
She had several stories and articles published in Westview, a journal published by Southwest Oklahoma State University, such as the hilarious “Old Bill and Lemon Pie.”
When Cornell passed away from colon cancer in 2006, she experienced complete independence and freedom for the first time in her life. She learned basic Spanish (sometimes Spanglish) so she could talk to her neighbors, and she often babysat the neighborhood kids after school, until their parents got home from work. She worked until she was 84 years old.
After her son Bill passed away in April 2024, Nina had a vision of Mother Mary, telling her she would be joining him in heaven soon. On August 8, 2024, during her 96th year of life, Nina May Barnes let go of her daughters’ hands and took Jesus’ hand instead. She was 96 years of age. Her youngest grandson, Scott, and her bonus daughter, Sally, were also with her. A host of friends visited her hospice bed to say goodbye in her final week. We are blessed to have shared our mother with so many amazing people!
Nina is survived by her daughter, the Reverend Leslie (Bill) Scoopmire of Wildwood, MO and her daughter Becky (Jay) Baker of Pine Valley, CA. She had a treasured bonus daughter in Sally Fowkes of Broken Arrow. She had 5 grandchildren: Lauren, Katie, and Scott Scoopmire, Courtney (Zack Hohl) and Chase Baker. She had bonus grandchildren in Stephanie (Jeff) Biggs and Dillon (Brianna) Fowkes, bonus great-grandchildren in Weyland Biggs and Blaire Fowkes, and a host of honorary grandchildren in France, Germany, and Sweden and in the Magic Circle Neighborhood. She also had several surviving cousins, nieces, and nephews. We are grateful for the staff of St. Francis Palliative Care Unit and St. Simeon’s Skilled Nursing for all their loving care of Mom over this past month.
Today and forever, she flies free, making the world’s best sheet cake for all who have gone before her. She joins her son Bill, her husband Cornell, her beloved brothers Robert Ray and Cecil William, her baby sister Irene Katherine, and her parents and numerous aunts and uncles in the communion of the saints.
There will be a visitation with the family before the service at 10:00 AM, and the services will be held at 11:00 AM, Saturday, November 23rd, at Southern Hills United Methodist Church, followed by a private family graveside service in Crescent, OK. In lieu of flowers, we humbly suggest donations in Nina’s memory be made to Southern Hills UMC, 6160 S Lewis Ave, Tulsa, OK.
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